Open Desi Initiative
Besides resolving the Devanagari-Nastaliq dilemma, Hamari Boli Initiative is also meant to define and create frameworks, platforms and pronounced impetus for open-source development in Hamari Boli (Text, Media, Software) Opensource and Internet in general is an invaluable blessing in the acute scarcity of non-partisan and propaganda free information. Uncontaminated Objective Truth is 'Key' to dissolving propaganda induced prejudices and thus Opensource needs to be leveraged to the fullest to create lasting regional peace & harmony in South Asia. Since all traditional info and education channels are choked with fabricated myths, half-truths and exclusivist hyperbole, Internet as 'The Medium' and Opensource as 'The Method' is 'The Solution' to all the misinformation and educational challenges facing all South Asian nations. Internet penetration is growing at breakneck speed and the region already boasts 160Million+ internet users (150M in Indo-Pak alone) and the numbers are expected to at least triple by 2015 as smartphones are becoming evercommon! However, The Opensource opportunity is almost entirely neglected in Indo-Pak. Free, open-source textbooks like FlexBooks, content like Wikipedia, Instructional Media & evalutation tech like the Khan Academy are most promising approaches to ensure same quality education to everyone, everywhere at a fraction of cost and hassle than what the traditional system requires. We believe that the digital age has presented us Desis with an unprecedented opportunity in the form of "Instructional Media + Educational Technology + Open-Source Content Production & Delivery Model" which is inherently immune to establishment bias and most suitable for filtering status-quo lies with dispassionate, non-partisan scholarly analysis. Uncontaminated Objective Truth is 'Key' to dissolving propaganda induced prejudices and thus we must leverage Open-Source to the fullest to create lasting regional peace & harmony in South Asia. We're keenly working towards creating a framework and pronounced impetus for open-content in Hamari Boli, which in turn will also hopefully inspire similar initiatives in other Desi languages. One loftiest long-term goal of the HB Initiative is a Hamari Boli Wikipedia :) Indo-Pak conflict is the most explosive nuclear threat today. A major problem in bilateral relations is extremely negative sentiments among common-folk, largely due to establishment propaganda & lack of popular interaction. Cross border travel is a nightmare, due to state policies. Nonpolitical cross border P-to-P platforms are vital to enable maximum people interact freely. The Open-Source approach will also enable large-scale People-to-People Communication and Collaboration. Better public acquaintance will result in reduced negative sentiments & reduced support for militarism. Serving as the platform, the larger Hamari Boli Initiative will set the stage for Opensource Curricula and Textbooks in Hamari Boli. Most significantly, a Hamari Boli translation of English Wikipedia will be an invaluable source of neutral and objective scholarly info on any topic. Will arouse great competition –and thus communication-- from all sides which will ultimately result in premium quality encyclopedic content in Hamari Boli, replicated in other regional languages as well. 'Desi Educators Network' Online platform for educators, academics, social entrepreneurs, policy makers, students and parents to collaborate towards developing and distributing open-source curricula for primary and secondary students in South Asia. 'Open-source Text Books' A hybrid of FlexBooks and Wikibooks models. Neatly organized in curricula format and freely available via internet. Written in a "Modernized Hamari Boli" these textbooks will be arranged such that teachers and students following various primary & secondary curricula will be able to find all material required to master respective curriculum. Initial focus will be completing science subjects for Primary and Secondary standards in Hamari Boli. HB Books will in turn inspire and galvanize similar initiatives among other Desi languages 'Language Learning' Proficiency in English language is almost a must for a successful academic and professional career anywhere in South Asia. In recent years, English teaching has become a very profitable business and hundreds of thousands of students spend countless money and efforts into learning it thru overcharged books/media and so-called 'Language Institutes' mushrooming everywhere. We'll be adapting/developing free, open-source books, instructional media (videos, animations etc) and testing platform for English learning in Hamari Boli for all Desi learners. Same model will be replicated rightafter for Hamari Boli learning material 'Khan Academy Hamari Boli' Hamari Boli version of the world famous "www.KhanAcademy.org", The first ever global classroom, available 24x7 online, absolutely free to everyone, everywhere! already being hailed as "the Next Revolution in Education", Khan Academy brings the best quality education to everyone regardless of cultural or class backgorund.. Ultimate objective is to port the entire English Khan Academy Platform (Videos + Testing + Evaluation + Reporting) to www.KhanAcademyHamariBoli.com for Desi Learners & Teachers worldwide.. just as Khan Academy, Khan Academy Hamari Boli will also be 100% Free & Open-source for everyone, everywhere! 'Hamari Boli Wikipedia' Who doesnt love Wikipedia! An invaluable blessing for knowledge seekers everywhere. In fact the HB Initiative started with a very simple idea of translating the English wiki into Roman Hindi-Urdu, research for which led to the genesis of Hamari Boli. HB translation of English Wikipedia is our most goal in the long-run. However, getting there needs the WordNet and Aazaad Standard thoroughly worked out. Category:Hamari Boli Initiative Category:Open Desi Initiative